Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday posted a clip posted on social media, claiming he would not be signing a plea deal to end his trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, and intends to remain at the helm of the Likud party as it attempts to return to power.
Netanyahu's attorneys were in dialogue with Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit in the past months, to negotiate a plea deal in which the former PM would admit to fraud and breach of trust but bribery charges against him would be dropped and the prosecution would not demand any jail time at sentencing.
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Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu in social media post claiming plea deal is off
(Photo: Screenshot)
But Mandelblit is due to retire at the end of the month, and the two sides are not expected to agree on the reduced charges in time.
A major point of contention remains the all-important moral turpitude clause that Mandelblit insisted would remain and that would keep Netanyahu away from public office for at least seven years.
Mandelblit has been the subject of direct personal attacks by Netanyahu and his close allies, claiming he had trumped up the charges against the former prime minister in a politically motivated witch hunt.
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Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit speaking at Haifa University late last year
(Photo: Sharon Tzur)
In Netanyahu's statement, his first since the plea deal negotiations were made public earlier this month, he thanked his followers for their continued support.
Many had donated sums totaling more than two million shekels in a funding campaign, to keep his trial going.
Netanyahu denied he was considering a deal that would include the moral turpitude clause and vowed to continue leading the Likud party as it attempts to regain power.
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Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaves the home of his attorney after discussing a plea deal in his criminal trial earlier this month
(Photo: Moti Kimchi)
Likud members have been positioning themselves for a fight for the leadership of the party.
If a plea agreement is not signed before Mandelblit leaves office, the criminal trial against the former PM will resume next week with the testimony of state witness Shlomo Filber, former Director General of the Communications Ministry who may provide evidence supporting the charges that Netanyahu received bribes in exchange for regulatory decisions that would have yielded communications mogul Shaul Elovtich, the former owner of the Walla news site and the Bezeq company, billions of shekels.